Four Things That Used To Be Free
The good old days!
This kind of thing makes you realize why your grandparents were so bitter: “The Wall Street Journal” just did an article called “You’re Charging Me for WHAAAT?”, all about things that USED to be free.
1. Choosing where to sit on an airplane. If you want to make sure you don’t get stuck with a middle seat on the way back, it’ll cost you. Choosing where to sit used to be free unless you were upgrading to business or first class.
2. Using the pool at a hotel. More places are doing things a la carte now, or tacking on a “resort fee.” Some even have early check-in fees or charge for things like access to lounge chairs at the pool.
3. Odd charges at restaurants. Things like “kitchen appreciation” fees, where they make you tip the cooks. Or a “fuel surcharge” when gas prices make everything more expensive.
4. Seeing a movie the day it comes out. You used to just have to line up to get tickets. Now those tickets can cost more. When “The Batman” hit theatres in March, the major chains charged a buck or two extra per ticket for a while. So that might be a trend now.
